The markets were higher at the open but, the update for the stock markets is that the gains, faded quickly. Triple digit loss hit the DOW and other major U.S. indices once again moved in a general tight trading range. Day traders experienced quite a bit of whip-o-tile trading action. Day traders with patience continue to reap in the profit benefits of these recent trading sessions. Earnings season tends to create increased market action therefore, action for those patient day traders.

The government stress test of the nation's largest banks who have utilized TARP funds, measures the banks strength based largely on a little-known regulatory benchmark that blends traditional capital measurement with the more stringent standard used by many stock market participants. The stress tests will focus on "Tier 1 common capital" in addition to the Tier 1 risk-based capital measure commonly used by regulators and "reflects the fact that common equity is the first element of the capital structure to absorb loss" per a joint statement released by bank regulators. The government shift to Tier 1 common reflects the reality that stock market participants already ignore capital measures that tent to put banks in a more positive view. The government focus is on tangible common equity which is a direct measure of shareholder value as well as the first to be hit by a banks' mark-to-market losses on troubled assets. Bank regulators indicate that Tier 1 common capital is measured by applying the same adjustments to voting common shareholders' equity that are used to calculate Tier 1 capital. This means adjusting common equity for various factors which include stripping out items such as goodwill and net unrealized investment gains or losses that are also stripped out in a company's Tier 1 calculation or by taking a company's reported Tier 1 capital figure and stripping out the value of any preferred or non-voting stock. 

Comments from President Barack Obama: Repeats call for 'pay as you go' budget rule; Cabinet will continue to scour budget for cuts; repeats vow to cut deficit in half by end of term; touts spending cuts,$17b in savings is "a lot of money";  FY2010 budget boosts SEC, CFTC enforcement resources.

Comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke: Hopes stress tests add to market confidence; stress tests aren't a solvency test; calls stress tests 'truly remarkable effort'; Fed is in 'extensive introspection' phase; crisis revealed weaknesses in oversight; firms must plan for stressed market conditions; stress testing has been rigorous, collaborative; stress test exercise could improve supervision; Fed taking steps to boost supervisory practices; regulators must be more vigilant, forceful.

Economic data released today:

Jobless Claims:
U.S. Continuing Claims for week of April 25 rose by 56K to 6,351,000; U.S. Jobless Claims for week of May 2 fell by 34K to 601K compared to survey of an increase by 4K; U.S. Jobless Claims Revised for week of April 25 Week to 635K from 631K; U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Lowest since January 24; U.S. Continuing Claims at Record High.

Productivity and Costs:
U.S. 1Q Non-Farm Productivity rose 0.8% compared to consensus of an increase by 0.3%; U.S. 1Q Unit Labor Costs rose  3.3% compared to consensus of an increase by 2.8%; U.S. 1Q Hours Worked post biggest drop since 1975.

Consumer Credit:
U.S. March Consumer Credit decreased $11.1B; U.S. Feb Consumer Credit Revised to down $8.1B from down $7.5B; U.S. Consumer Credit Dollar drop largest on record; U.S. Consumer Credit Percentage drop largest since 1990.

At the NYSE closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange, here is how the major world indices and major U.S. stock indices ended the trading session on the world markets as well as the emerging markets including the stock market closing bell price:
DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit loss 102.43 points, EOD 8,409.85
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) loss 90.46 points, EOD 5,800.09
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) loss 42.86 points, EOD 1,716.24
S&P 500 (SPX) loss 12.14 points, EOD 907.39
BEL 20 (BEL20) gain 48.64 points, EOD 2,073.54
CAC 40 (CAC40) loss 31.99 points, EOD 3,251.52
FTSE100 (UKX100) gain 2.19 points, EOD 4,398.68
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) triple digit gain 408.33 points, EOD 9,385.70

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 852, declined stock prices 1,832, unchanged stock prices 493, stock prices hitting new highs 11 and stock prices hitting new lows 8. NYSE quotes for volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the New York Stock Exchange stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: DE: shed 3.25 points, HOD $47.98, LOD $43.27, EOD $43.80; SKF: gain 2.28 points, HOD $46.49, LOD $39.53, EOD $45.28; HUM: gain 1.27 points, HOD $32.15, LOD $29.81, EOD $31.04; TX: gain 5.16 points, HOD $15.80, LOD $10.52, EOD $15.67; BAC: gain 0.82 points, HOD $15.07, LOD $12.78, EOD $13.51; PRU: gain 7.30 points, HOD $44.10, LOD $37.75, EOD $42.87; WW: shed 9.77 points, HOD $46.16, LOD $35.52, EOD $41.83; CME: shed 18.14 points, HOD $256.77, LOD $234.44, EOD $235.78; ESI: shed 0.22 points, HOD $93.93, LOD $89, EOD $93.17; ICE: shed 2.62 points, HOD $98.50, LOD $94.40, EOD $95.16; RTP: shed 2.47 points, HOD $192.63, LOD $179.25, EOD $181.19.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 916, declined stock prices 1,871, unchanged stock prices 111, stock prices hitting new highs 26 and stock prices hitting new lows 6. NASDAQ quotes, volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the NASDAQ stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: VNDA: gain 6.73 points, HOD $10, LOD $7.39, EOD $7.81; TBSI: shed 2.18 points, HOD $10.85, LOD $8.82, EOD $9.48; DGIT: shed 3.18 points, HOD $19.87, LOD $17.21, EOD $18.59; CECO: shed 1.93 points, HOD $19.66, LOD $17.94, EOD $19.21; FSLR: shed 2.87 points, HOD $207.51, LOD $190.50, EOD $196.23.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 238, declined stock prices 284, unchanged stock prices 98, stock prices hitting new highs 9 and stock prices hitting new lows 3.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market for the day, at time of this posting:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) June 09: EOD 907.25; Change -10
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) June 09: EOD 1,393.50; Change -37
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) June 09: EOD 8,389; Change -82
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) June 09: EOD 567.40; Change -14.20
Nikkei 225 (Yen) June 09; EOD 9,285; Change -140

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.7468 to U.S. Dollars 1.3391
Japanese Yen 99.03 to U.S. Dollars 0.0101
British Pound 0.6661 to U.S. Dollars 1.5012
Canadian Dollar 1.1709 to U.S. Dollars 0.8540
Swiss Franc 1.1298 to U.S. Dollars 0.8851

COMMODITY MARKETS:

Energy Sector - Nymex:
Light Crude (June 09) gain $0.37, EOD $56.59 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (June 09) gain $0.01, EOD $1.49 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (June 09) gain $0.27, EOD $4.16 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (May 09) gain $0.04, EOD $1.67 a gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (June 09) gain $4.50, EOD $915.50 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (July 09) gain $0.32, EOD $14.03 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (July 09) gain $14.20, EOD $1,157.30 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (July 09) shed $0.02, EOD $2.16 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (June 09) shed 0.33, EOD 66.78
Pork Bellies (July 09) shed 3.00, EOD 78.40
Live Cattle (June 09) gain 0.15, EOD 82.03
Feeder Cattle (August 09) gain 0.08, EOD 99.08

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (July 09) gain 4.50, EOD 412
Soybeans (July 09) shed 16, EOD 1,102

BOND MARKET:

2 year EOD 99 24/32, change -2/32, Yield 0.99, Yield change 0.04
5 year EOD 98 21/32, change -18/32, Yield 2.15, Yield change 0.12
10 year EOD 95 15/32, change - 3 31/32, Yield 3.29, Yield change 0.15
30 year EOD 87, change -11/32, Yield 8 18/32, Yield 3.31, change -0.75